Massachusetts Public Housing Exec Forced Out in Salary Scandal

Massachusetts Public Housing Exec Forced Out in Salary Scandal ~

Massachusetts Public Housing Exec Forced Out in Salary
Scandal ~

The head of a public housing agency in the working-class
Boston suburb of Chelsea, Mass., quit his job on November 3
after Governor Deval Patrick publicly criticized his inflated
salary, the Boston Globe reports
(“
High-pay housing director resigns,” by Andrea
Estes and Sean P. Murphy).
Michael E. McLaughlin, the head of the
Chelsea
Housing Authority since 2000, had reportedly received a
$25,000 raise every year since starting the job, ending with a
$360,000 annual salary, the Globe reported. Moreover,
McLaughlin admitted deceiving state housing authorities about
his compensation, reporting on official forms that his pay was
only $160,000. McLaughlin told the Globe that the
deception was a result of what he called “the rebel in
me.”
Governor Patrick told the Globe that
McLaughlin’s conduct made him
“boiling” mad: “It’s an
outrage. Here we are flat-funding public housing, trying to
hold on through the worst economy in living memory, and not
only is the executive director feathering his nest, but
he’s misrepresenting to us what he’s doing.
That just can’t stand.’’ The
governor had temporarily frozen state funds for the Chelsea
agency just hours before the director’s resignation.
The Authority oversees 1,415 units.
McLaughlin was paid far more than other executives running
much larger agencies, the Globe reported: “The
Boston Housing Authority, the city’s largest landlord,
pays William McGonagle $135,906. The New York City chief makes
$197,364.” And as a retiree, McLaughlin could receive
an annual pension of $279,000 — by far the highest
pension ever awarded by Massachusetts to anyone. But state
Inspector General Gregory Sullivan has urged officials to cut
the pension in half, basing it on the salary McLaughlin
reported to the state agency, rather than on his much larger
actual compensation. “He hid it and didn’t
receive the requisite legal approval for this
windfall,” said Sullivan. “We are hopeful
that his pension will be knocked down to a reasonable
level.”
On November 3, Federal agents for the Department of Housing
and Urban Development were investigating McLaughlin and the
Chelsea Housing Authority, the Globe reported
(“
HUD examines Chelsea agency,” by Andrea Estes and
Sean P. Murphy). “The investigators from the US
Department of Housing and Urban Development, which provides
much of the Chelsea agency’s funding, stopped
employees at the door of the Locke Street administrative
offices, asking their names and positions and whether anyone
had asked them to shred documents.”
Meanwhile, Governor Patrick said he would require 200 other
public housing agencies in Massachusetts to re-submit their
financial statements, the Globe reported.